OK, we've discussed China, the Sudan...

[paracowboy]

...et al, ad nauseum. Anybody willing to place bets on how long until we (well, let's be honest, the Yanks) have to march into Venezuela?

 

[-rb]

I must say I had a chuckle when I read Chavez' comments yesterday - "If someday they get the crazy idea of coming to invade us, we'll make them bite the dust defending the freedom of our land," as well as calling the United States the "most savage, cruel and murderous empire that has existed in the history of the world."   :

A little more background here...

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/08/09/chavez.invasion.ap/index.html

Caracas here we come ;D

 

[Island Ryhno]

Perfect, what I need is someone to save another oil rich country so my f*cking gas can be $5.00 a litre.  :  Yes, someone will be biting dust for sure.

 

[paracowboy]

It's getting pretty worrisome. Apparently ol' Hugo idolizes Bolivar and is close to Fidel. Now, he may be courting Cuba just to help secure his reins on power. Despite last year's attempted coup falling apart, it still involved high-ranking government and military pers working in collaboration with Chavez's exiled rivals. And it's been like that since he took power in '01. Enrique Vila, a leading leftist poet and professor who became part of the new "populist" government, was quoted then as saying: "We're trying to have a revolution with the enemy inside." We don't know how many enemies (real or imagined) Chavez may have netted in the purge that followed the failed coup. Aside from the ringleaders, did he get any? Thus he could be reaching out for help from the only other Latin American nation that he could possible trust to support his government.

Considering that Venezuela sits on huge oil reserves, it's more than a little disturbing to have a communist dictatorship in control. Making things worse is Chavez's delusions of grandeur. He sees himself controlling vast territories and wealth. According to Wall Street Journal columnist Mary Anastasia O'Grady, Chavez 'envisions an axis of power linking Brasilla, Montevideo and Buenos Aires.' That's a big chunk of land, folks. Dig out an atlas. It reaches from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Imperial Venezuela. His courting of FARC and other 'pseudo-communist' terrorist groups in South America isn't endearing him to his neighbours.

Making the situation even more unsettling is a visit by North Koreans to Venezuela. When we consider reasons for a North Korean visit, it's a little creepy. For the past decade North Korea's only real export has been missiles. North Korea has sold missiles to Iraq under Saddam, to Iran, Syria, Libya, and maybe Pakistan (I remember reading about India not being happy about it). Further, apparently, Chavez is also expecting delivery of a squadron of MiG-29 aircraft from Russia. Another reason for his neighbours to get froggy. Missiles and aircraft both more capable than anything they have.

Oil-rich, supportive of terrorists, purchasing weapons, anti-American rhetoric...you'd think these guys would learn.

 

[Bruce Monkhouse]

..and once again,....tick, tick, tick,....

How long before we have no choice but to become a "real" fortress North America?

 

[paracowboy]

..and once again,....tick, tick, tick,....

How long before we have no choice but to become a "real" fortress North America?

or part of a 'real' Imperialist power? Pax Anglophonica?

 

[Island Ryhno]

Sounds like it has all the makings of the second coming of the cold war. Well maybe it will not be so cold this time around. If the components fit together, i.e. North Korea, Cuba et al, then yeah we have a real mess on our hands. But never mind that, there are people in africa that need to be saved and by the Liberal christ, we'll save them yet.  : Somebody get us a PC government ffs.

 

[atticus]

I've been to Caracas. Not a very nice place at all. Most of the people live in slums and they all have a gun. Once your out of the big cities and into the smaller towns there are a surprising amount of germans who live there.

Island Ryhno, what do you mean "Liberal christ"?

 

[Island Ryhno]

Sorry atticus, that's a Newfinism, we put everything in front of christ, blue christ, thundering christ. It's an expression we use, in this case it regards the liberal government and idealism. By the liberal christ. Make sense? Sorry if it doesn't. Just one of those things.

 

[paracowboy]

and this isn't new. From 2003:
Terror Close to Home
In oil-rich Venezuela, a volatile leader befriends bad actors from the Mideast, Colombia, and Cuba
By Linda Robinson

Editor's note: a map graphic accompanied the print version of this story. The FARC's principal camp in Venezuela is in the Perija mountains near an Indian village called Resumidero, according to maps and testimony from FARC deserters (location: Latitude: N 10` 29'56''; Longitude W72' 44'56'')

The oil-rich but politically unstable nation of Venezuela is emerging as a potential hub of terrorism in the Western Hemisphere, providing assistance to Islamic radicals from the Middle East and other terrorists, say senior U.S. military and intelligence officials. Bush administration aides see this as an unpredictably dangerous mix and are gathering more information about the intentions of a country that sits 1,000 miles south of Florida.

One thing that's clear is that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is fast becoming America's newest nemesis, U.S. officials say. He has forged close ties with Cuba's Fidel Castro and has befriended some of America's other notorious enemies, traveling to Saddam's Iraq and Qadhafi's Libya. Now, after surviving an attempted coup and a nationwide petition demanding his recall, Chavez is flirting with terrorism, and Washington is watching with increasing alarm.

"We are not disinterested spectators," says Roger Noriega, the new assistant secretary of state for Latin America. "Any actions that undermine democratic order or threaten the security and well-being of the region are of legitimate concern to all of Venezuela's neighbors." U.S. officials are monitoring three sets of developments:

Middle Eastern terrorist groups are operating support cells in Venezuela and other locations in the Andean region. A two-month review by U.S. News, including interviews with dozens of U.S. and Latin American sources, confirms the terrorist activity. In particular, the magazine has learned that thousands of Venezuelan identity documents are being distributed to foreigners from Middle Eastern nations, including Syria, Pakistan, Egypt, and Lebanon.

Venezuela is supporting armed opposition groups from neighboring Colombia; these groups are on the official U.S. list of terrorist organizations and are also tied to drug trafficking. Maps obtained by U.S. News, as well as eyewitness accounts, pinpoint the location of training camps used by Colombian rebels, a top rebel leader, and Venezuelan armed groups.

Cubans are working inside Venezuela's paramilitary and intelligence apparatus. The coordination between Cuba and Venezuela is the latest sign that Venezuelan President Chavez is modeling his government on Castro's Cuba.

The Venezuelan government denies supporting Middle Eastern terrorist groups and says that no Cubans are operating inside its intelligence agencies. Venezuela has long denied providing aid to the Colombian guerrilla groups.

Venezuela is providing support--including identity documents--that could prove useful to radical Islamic groups, say U.S. officials. U.S. News has learned that Chavez's government has issued thousands of cedulas, the equivalent of Social Security cards, to people from places such as Cuba, Colombia, and Middle Eastern nations that play host to foreign terrorist organizations. An American official with firsthand knowledge of the ID scheme has seen computer spreadsheets with names of people organized by nationality. "The list easily totaled several thousand," the official says. "Colombians were the largest group; there were more than a thousand of them. It also included many from Middle Eastern `countries of interest' like Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, Lebanon." The official adds: "It was shocking to see how extensive the list was." U.S. officials believe that the Venezuelan government is issuing the documents to people who should not be getting them and that some of these cedulas were subsequently used to obtain Venezuelan passports and even American visas, which could allow the holder to elude immigration checks and enter the United States. U.S. officials say that the cedulas are also being used by Colombian subversives and by some Venezuelan officials to travel surreptitiously.

The suspicious links between Venezuela and Islamic radicalism are multiplying. American law enforcement and intelligence officials are exploring whether there is an al Qaeda connection--specifically, they want to know if a Venezuelan of Arab descent named Hakim Mamad al Diab Fatah had ties to any of the September 11 hijackers. The United States deported Diab Fatah to Venezuela for immigration violations in March 2002. A U.S. intelligence official says that Diab Fatah is still a "person of interest" and that his family in Venezuela is "a well-known clan associated with extremist and illicit activity" in northern Venezuela. But when U.S. officials sought Diab Fatah for further questioning, they were told by Venezuelan officials that he was not in the country. Diab Fatah may also be tied to the Caracas mosque of Sheik Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz, which has caught investigators' attention. One of the mosque's officials, also a Venezuelan of Arab descent, was recently arrested in London for carrying a grenade on a Caracas-London flight.

Sympathy.

Latin America's Arab communities are also becoming centers for terrorist sympathizers. A Venezuelan analyst who recently visited Margarita Island, a free zone on the north coast of Venezuela run largely by Arab merchants from Lebanon and Iran, described the Venezuelan-Arab Friendship Association as a "fortress" with armed guards outside. A U.S. official says the association has been long known as a location of illicit activities. In addition, support "cells" for the groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamiyya al Gammat are active on Margarita, according to Gen. James Hill, the head of the U.S. Southern Command. In a speech last month, Hill said: "These groups generate funds through money laundering, drug trafficking, or arms deals and make millions of dollars every year via their multiple illicit activities. These logistic cells reach back to the Middle East."

Venezuela's support for terrorist organizations isn't limited to those based in Lebanon or Egypt. Colombia's complaints that Venezuela is actively aiding two Colombian armed groups on the U.S. State Department's terrorist list--the FARC and the ELN--have been met by heated Venezuelan denials. But U.S. News has obtained detailed information demonstrating that camps used by the Colombian rebels exist inside Venezuela; maps actually pinpoint the location of the camps, and firsthand reports describe visits by Venezuelan officials. The armed Colombian groups, though they have waged no attacks on U.S. soil, are among the most active terrorist groups in the world, and several of their leaders have been indicted in the United States for the killings and kidnappings of Americans and for drug trafficking.

The FARC's principal camp in Venezuela is in the Perija mountains near an Indian village called Resumidero, according to maps and testimony from FARC deserters. The Resumidero base is home to one of the FARC's top leaders, Ivan Marquez, and can accommodate 700 people. Marquez commands 1,000 fighters and, according to one deserter's account, oversees the training of hundreds more would-be guerrillas. A clandestine FARC radio station is located about 30 miles away, on the Colombian-Venezuelan border. Resumidero, which has 100 huts and three houses for Marquez and other leaders, is two days' walk from another camp called Asamblea, near the city of Machiques, which is about 35 miles inside Venezuelan territory. That camp, which has 25 houses and even Internet access, is used to train still more more fighters.

U.S. News has also obtained documents that offer firsthand accounts--from people inside the camps--that illustrate the extent of Venezuela's backing of the Colombian rebels. According to debriefings of former rebels, some 60 Venezuelan soldiers, plus two Venezuelan officers, provide training to the FARC rebels at the Resumidero camp. Visitors to the camp have included Venezuelan civilians and Europeans. A 31-year-old FARC deserter who spent seven months at FARC camps inside Venezuela, says he witnessed Venezuelan officers arrive by helicopter. He says his unit twice ambushed the Colombian Army and then fled to sanctuary in Venezuela. He also asserts that "abundant ammunition"--a cache in April included 2,500 rounds of 7.62mm and .223-caliber ammunition for automatic rifles--has been shipped across the border to Colombia. Another guerrilla who turned herself in last July says she saw FARC leaders heading for a camp called Rio Verde in Venezuela. And a former guerrilla, a 32-year-old man, says he fled from battle to a camp called Sastreria in Venezuela.

Drug money helps fuel the fighting. Another FARC source told U.S. News that he witnessed a FARC logistics chief trade 8 kilograms of cocaine and cash for guns from a Venezuelan colonel, who arranged the shipments from Venezuelan Army stocks. Colombian officials have documented many such guns-for-drugs trades; they also confirm the existence of training camps--and even spots where hostages are held--along Venezuela's frontier from the flatlands of Arauca northward to the mountains of Perija. Adds a U.S. official: "It's no secret the level of cooperation that the Venezuelan government is giving to the Colombian groups, from the shipment of arms in, to the shipment of drugs out, to the movement of people in and out of Colombia." During an August visit to the region, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, went so far as to suggest that Venezuela's support for terrorists in Colombia was like Syria's support for terrorists in Iraq. "It is simply not helpful when countries don't fully support the antiterrorist fight."

The Chavez government's support of the Colombian guerrillas is no act of charity. After he was elected in 1998, Chavez vowed to bring about a "Bolivarian revolution" in Venezuela; the movement is named for Simon Bolivar, the 19th-century hero who defeated the Spanish in South America. But Chavez's popularity has plummeted, and Venezuela's economy is troubled. In April 2002, he survived a military coup--one that the United States prematurely applauded. Chavez has since purged the military.

The armed Colombian groups are helping Chavez create a force loyal to his regime. The FARC and ELN were "instrumental" in the formation and training of a 200-man Venezuelan armed group called the Frente Bolivariano de Liberacion that operates in western Venezuela, according to U.S. officials. The FARC has also provided training to the so-called Bolivarian Circles, an urban organization that Chavez set up to defend and promote his revolution.

Senior U.S. officials are concerned about the growing Cuban presence inside Venezuela. All told, some 5,000 Cubans have traveled to the country; in particular, many are turning up inside Venezuela's intelligence and paramilitary apparatus. Says one U.S. official: "The Cubans are deeply embedded in Venezuela's intelligence agency." Castro and Chavez are so close, they are said to talk by phone every day. Cubans also form part of Chavez's personal bodyguard detail. There is ample evidence, officials say, that "Cuba provides military training to pro-Chavez organizations" that have been set up to safeguard Chavez from coup attempts like the one he survived last year. None of this surprises U.S. officials who have been watching Chavez. "He decided to follow the Cuban model long ago," says one, citing speeches he made in 1994 and 1998. Chavez is sending some 53,000 barrels of oil monthly to help Castro's cash-strapped Cuba. And large numbers of Venezuelan military personnel have also been sent to Cuba for training.

Given all that is happening in Chavez's Venezuela, some American officials regret that terrorism is seen chiefly as a Middle East problem and that the United States is not looking to protect its southern flank. "I'm concerned that counterterrorism issues are not being aggressively pursued in this hemisphere," one U.S. intelligence official said. "We don't even have flyovers" of Venezuela. Another intelligence official complains that terror suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. base in Cuba, are not being interrogated about connections to Latin American. The bottom line, when it comes to terrorism so close to U.S. shores, says the official: "We don't even know what we don't know."

 

[paracowboy]

Hopefully in 10 years he will be a martyr on a T-shirt worn by cool, middle-class white kids, because he is deposed, riddled with bullets, and pushing up daisies in an unmarked grave. But, I don't hold my breath. He has planned, and is implementing, his program more carefully than leftists have in the past. He has taken lessons learned from his mentor, Castro, and improved on them. He has slowly purged the army and organized a militia armed with soviet weapons directly reporting to him. Further, the opposition in Venezuela is even more incompetent than the Opposition here. The guy was (sorta/kinda) democratically elected (by Latin American standards, anyway) and does have the majority of the populace behind him (bread and circuses. Work every time.). Enough of the Venezuelan populace remembers how corrupt the "Right" were when they were in power, that he will probably continue to win out against non-violent attacks on his presidency.

You know things are really bad, when Colombians are leaving and returning to Colombia for better opportunities. I've spoken with American soldiers who've recently worked down there and they say it is a shame to see such beautiful country becoming an armed, anti-western anti-democracy, anti-capitalism outpost. South America has never really gotten the hang of a free-market economy (aside from drugs), but Chavez is implementing complete lock-down. And, for the past two years, he's been incorporating social re-engineering in the schools. He has a program in place whereby, University students get accelerated through, if they participate in leading/teaching his ideas of Venezuelan culture.

 

[I_am_John_Galt]

Ain't this cozy:

Fidel Castro Presides Over Venezuela Military Graduation

Havana, Aug 3 (Prensa Latina) President Fidel Castro presided over the graduation ceremony of Venezuelan military in Havana, in which he highlighted the timely value of the Bolivarian Revolution.

The Cuban leader spoke at the "Libertador Simón Bolívar" Venezuelan Army AcademyÂ's 46th graduation ceremony, whose graduate officers elected him their patron.

In the closing speech, he stressed the Bolivarian revolution has arrived at just the right moment to contribute to the second and definitive independence of Latin America, as Simón Bolívar dreamed.

The solemn ceremony took place Tuesday evening at the Revolution Palace Council of State where the statesman personally delivered the diplomas to each of the 75 graduates.

He said the presence of the South American officers is proof that our Latin American homelands are producing the most necessary, profound, and most just of revolutions.

President Castro called this decision of the Venezuelan military academic institution spontaneous and unexpected, something unimaginable only a few years ago, and he accepted it in the name of the Cuban people.

Those who do not understand the phenomena taking place in BolivarÂ's homeland and other Latin American latitudes add to the calumny and lies, as well as creating conditioned reflexes among the people to keep them in ignorance and oppression, he said.

The Head of State warned that these adversaries donÂ't have to worry because, he said, President Chávez and I are not subverting the order, as they accuse us. There are others who, for many years have maintained an unsustainable order, he countered.

He pointed out that changes are inevitable due to the objective conditions urged by the people, whose consciousness is growing. We hope change comes as peacefully as possible, because none of us wants war, he emphasized.

Never lose patience. The lies used as instruments of domination will be overcome, Fidel Castro told the Venezuelan lieutenant colonels.

The President predicted that what is happening in Venezuela today will not only have repercussions in Latin America, but also among the US people, who mobilized against the war in Vietnam and demanded that the child Elian be returned to his country.

He told the officers of the South American nation to be inspired by the worth of independence. From men such as you spring those leaders with a sense of justice, bravery, dignity and reason, he stressed.

Fidel Castro further said that the Bolivarian RevolutionÂ's ideas of justice can benefit the entire world, presenting challenges such as the sovereignty of the human species.

You have every possibility of making those dreams come true, he concluded, in reference to the as yet incomplete true independence and unity of Latin America.

By decision of the Cuban Council of State, the Venezuelan graduates, presided over by director of the military academy, Brigadier General Carlos Antonio Centeno Mena, received the Combat Brotherhood Medal.

The Cuban President was presented with a replica of a Venezuelan Navy submarine and batons used by the generals of that country, and then left with the Venezuelan military delegation, who were accompanied by close family members.

Caracas Ambassador to Havana Adán Chávez was among those attending the ceremony, as were high level Cuban officers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B0080DE49-E8F3-41DF-8DA8-14C95B86C6DD%7D&language=EN

But there's something amiss with the military (there was also a rumoured mutiny in the south):

Parade cancellation: The more that is explained, the more implausible it gets

Chavez confirmed tonight that the military parade of June 24th. was cancelled for security reasons. According to the President, the Army detected a plan to kill him during teh parade. He added that this is not the first time that the parade is cancelled, which I do not recall ever being cancelled. Chavez even said that we have too many parades. This from the same man that loves to play soldier, wear uniforms and hold parades as he did during the first few years in office, when he was not afraid to go out in public.

Well, the June 24th. parade takes place in Campo Carabobo, some 30 Kms. away from the city of Valencia, and it is a monument built in remembrance of the last battle for the independence of Venezuelawhich took place right there. Now, this is the most unlikely place to attempt an assasination. It is essentially a park with monuments, mostly open air, explicitly delineated which could be easily sealed and surrounded by military a couple of days before. And nothing should happen to teh President or those participating in the parade. You can see pictures of Campo Carabobo here or here.

Of course, all of the above is true unless those trying to kill Chavez will be the same ones that are participating in the parade. Unless they are themselves members of his beloved military, which nobody has said. There are many problems within the military today. Some groups are upset over the cubanization of Venezuela, others at the levels of corruption reached out and within the military, others at how PDVSA has been weakened to what they think is dangerous levels and even some others at the destruction of the military institution and the attempt to create alternate parallel structures like the reserves. In fact, rumors are going around that over half of the officers in the Chiefs of Staff course have resigned because of the imposition of Fidel Castro as the Godfather/sponsor of their graduating class by Chavez himself. This out of no more than fifty members, the cream of the crop of each year's military class. By resigning, you destroy your military career, you will never go above the level of Lieutenant and you will likely be retired anyway.

You can do so much positive spinning of the news. But the stories are getting too implausible to be believable. This is very dangerous, there are some real nuts (Yes, even more than the current ones, believe it or not!) in the Venezuelan military. Very scary indeed!

http://blogs.salon.com/0001330/2005/06/14.html#a2328

And others are unhappy, too [EDIT: see next post as well]:

Venezuela medics march over jobs

Hundreds of Venezuelan doctors have marched through the country's capital, Caracas, demanding the expulsion of Cuban doctors.

President Hugo Chavez says he invited the medical staff into the country to provide free health care for the poor.

But Venezuela's doctors, who are also asking for better wages, say the Cubans are taking their jobs.

They say the government is trading its oil revenues to pay for some 20,000 Cuban doctors and dentists.

Dressed in white medical gowns and bearing national flags, some 400 doctors and medical staff carried banners reading 'No More Cubanisation!' as they marched.

Doctors for oil

Under a special programme set up by Mr Chavez and his ally Cuban President Fidel Castro, Cuban doctors, dentists and nurses work in newly set-up medical centres in Venezuela's poorest areas.

In exchange, the oil-rich country sends Cuba 90,000 barrels of oil a day.

The "Barrio Adentro" or "Into the Neighbourhood" programme has won Mr Chavez great popularity among the country's poor.

It is believed to have helped him win a referendum last year.

But organisers of the march say salaries have remained unchanged for four years and many cannot now find work due to the influx of Cuban doctors.

'Indoctrination'

They say that while the Cuban-staffed clinics are equipped with medicines and modern machines, public hospitals often lack basic medical equipment.

"Venezuelan doctors are underpaid and many are unemployed," trauma specialist Pedro Carvallo told Reuters news agency.

He said many Cuban doctors do not hold proper medical qualifications.

"These Cubans are political agents who come to indoctrinate, not to work as doctors," Mr Carvallo said.

Mr Chavez says the Cubans have accepted jobs in areas, including crime-ridden slums on the outskirts of towns, where many Venezuelans refuse to work.

Fidel Castro has said that he aims to increase the number of Cuban health care workers in Venezuela to up to 30,000 by the end of the year.

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4688117.stm

Which may be indicative of more going-on beneath the surface ...

And if there was any doubt:

 

[I_am_John_Galt]

The Venezuelan Doctors' protest (3rd article above) should really be viewed in the context of this:

Medical post closed for lack of doctors

HAVANA, Cuba - May 10 (Adrián Leiva / www.cubanet.org) - The urgent care medical post next to the El Cerro bus station in Havana has been closed until further notice due to the scarcity of physicians occasioned by the wholesale shipment of doctors to other countries.

Patients who used the medical post to seek treatment for asthma, hypertension and other ailments now have to go to the Antonio Maceo polyclinic or to the Salvador Allende or Joaquín Albarrán hospitals further away.

After the Cuban government started sending physicians abroad as both a propaganda measure and as a source of hard currency, medical services just double up on the remaining physicians. Lately, the situation has become exacerbated by the shipment of what some say may be up to 10,000 doctors to Venezuela, to cooperate in President Chavez' neighborhoods program. In return, Venezuela has been shipping 53,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba.

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y05/may05/13e2.htm

Ain't socialism grand?  I suppose the "No Cuban Blood for Venezuelan Oil" protests are going to start any day now, right?

 

[atticus]

Sorry atticus, that's a Newfinism, we put everything in front of christ, blue christ, thundering christ. It's an expression we use, in this case it regards the liberal government and idealism. By the liberal christ. Make sense? Sorry if it doesn't. Just one of those things.

do you mean it as a curse word, or like as saviour? I don't get it, maybe because I've never even been to Newfoundland.

Paracowboy: Do you mean Pedro?

 

[SpruceTree]

I'm new to the site but here's my inaugural 2 pennies on Venezuela:

I think Venezuela is safe as long as it keep selling its oil on the open market where the US can buy it. The US needs it. And with todays oil prices and Chavez' attempts neo-Bolivarianism, they need the money too. I think essentially that's the bottom line with Venezuela and the US.

As well, South America nations in general are moving away from more Western or US free-market style economies toward more socialist ones. Brasil, Argentina, Venezuela, and one of two others have done so. There is talk about forming an EU style regional trading block down there too. As far as I can see there is nothing wrong with this. They are free countries entitled to make their own decisions.

Chavez talks a lot. My own view is that he does this not for the benefit of foreign audiences, but to his own. The same anti-US propaganda he spouts instills a bit of fear and helps shore up support for him. This is no different from a US leader like Rice speaking about mushroom clouds over America in "war on terror" or whatever it's called now speeches.
As far as Chavez actually supporting or aiding known terrorists or state supporters, I think that remains to be seen/proven. He is unlikely to get much materiel support from US friends and allies because of how the US would react, so he needs to seek armaments and allies elsewhere.

Invading Venezuela is not a realistic option for several reasons. First, the US is divided increasingly in the 'anti' favour about military adventurism because the cost/benefit ratio is proving dubious at its  best.  I don't think there would be enough public support for a Venezuela conquest in the wake of US experiences in Iraq.
Secondly, militarily the US is stressed by Iraq. Some units are on their third rotation back to Iraq, and may be decreasing in effectiveness as morale erodes (US readers feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this). I'm not sure the US military would be in enough shape to handle another invasion/occupation.
Third, modern war costs a lot of money. The US operation in Iraq is largely funded by loans from foreign central banks buy US T-bills etc. There is no hardcash domestic war chest in the US. Any further operations drives the nation further into record debt. I don't think it would be economically viable.
And lastly, as long as Venezuelan leadership remains popular and the majority of Venezuelans view foreign interference as a thing to be resisted, no attack on Venezuela would be successful. Chavez had made allies with not just Cuba, but Brasil and others as well. He does have friends in the region, and an attack on Venezuela may be resisted by more than one country or group--one of which might be a nuclear power.

 

[edadian]

The United States is the last country to get involved in Venezuela. American history in the region is marked by inteferance in internal affairs and sparking civil wars. Even if the US had public backing for the invasion Venezuela it would find many enemies throughout the Americas even I believe in Canada.

Venezeuela is a democracy and is going through normal democratic evolutianary troubles. Remember the entire region has tried the American way with disaterous results. It is nieve to think the US economic and political system is exportable, it is not. It is right wing American multi-national corporations that have forced Venezeuela and Brazil left as a reaction.

Having taken American Foriegn Policy history at University I know a bit of what I speak. My prof was neo-con pro-American but professional enough not to spin or hide the truth. America in the Phillipines, in South America and in other parts of the world was as brutal and evil as any empire in history. The atrocities commited in the name of American security, influence or democracy are numerous and not forgotten by the victimized countries or peoples.

 

[48Highlander]

America in the Phillipines, in South America and in other parts of the world was as brutal and evil as any empire in history. The atrocities commited in the name of American security, influence or democracy are numerous and not forgotten by the victimized countries or peoples.

:

I think you need to search e-bay for a clue

 

[Bograt]

I particularly enjoyed this statement.

Having taken American Foriegn Policy history at University I know a bit of what I speak.

I took Statistics, organic chemistry, linguistics, aboriginal history, and benthic biology. I guess I am an expert numerologist/chemist/linguist/anthopologist/aquatic biologist. Come to think of it I also work at a MH operational squadron I guess I am AC qualified as well.

 

[Kirkhill]

How about this for putting Hugo a little closer to the front burner?

Seen on CNN - Lou Dobbs.  California Minutemen/Civilians/Border Enthusiasts (I hesitate to call vigilantes Guards) been harassed while trying to keep the border free of Illegal immigrants.  The Harassing Force?

A motley crew of individuals of generally Latino persuasion calling for the "re-establishment" of the Spanish/Aztec/Mayan empire (take your pick).  Said empire to encompass all of Central America, Mexico and those parts of the US "stolen" from their rightful overlords.

Motley mob wearing red shirts with Che Guevara and other apposite symbols on them,  various Mexican and central american flags, red banners, right hands clenched in the air, all the necessary paraphernalia.

Marry Fidel, Hugo, Oil Money and Motley Mob - put AK47s into clenched right hands and I reckon that the Marines might have to return to their traditional exercise grounds.  Hugo may get an opportunity to display his prowess yet.  I wonder if he has OBL's cell phone number?

 

[a_majoor]

It is hard to say what the "right" way to deal with this is. I would suggest a naval embargo of Venezuela to block the export of oil would probably do the trick, if Chavez wants to play the "Imperial conqueror" game (or even just be a tinpot dictator in his own little corner) he needs access to money. A useful side effect would be a shut down of oil supplies to Cuba as well.

Hand in hand with that effort would have to be a careful canvassing of the opposition politicians and groups within Venezuela, and getting them to do the leg work for raising mass opposition to the Chavez regime; a "Banana revolution" if you will. Since the actual overthrow and change of regime will be a self help project (and the "grey ships" of the USN will have been over the horizon the entire time), questions of legitimacy should be straight forward and the new government can get on with the job of re-establishing democracy and civil society. (Whoever thinks Venezuela is going through "normal evolutionary troubles" needs to give his head a shake and look again, or perhaps read how other democratic regimes were subverted and overthrown from within in the past. (Hint; the 1930s is an excellent period to start your research).